[REVIEW] Need A Bad Credit Loan?

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(EXTRACT) AP BUSINESS NEWS

By TIM PARADIS, AP Business Writer

NEW YORK - Stocks jumped Friday following a better-than-expected rise in profits at Research in Motion Ltd. and on word that Merrill Lynch might have lined up a big cash infusion from a Singapore fund.

The developments seemed to allay investor fears that economic growth would succumb to tightness in the credit markets. Adding to the measure of relief some investors felt, the Federal Reserve said after the opening bell that it would continue with its special biweekly auctions for banks as long as was necessary to relieve strains in the short-term debt market.

The announcements came as the New York Stock Exchange set a record for volume in the first half hour of trading during what is known as "quadruple witching." It marks the simultaneous expiration of contracts for stock index futures, stock index options, stock options and single stock futures and often leads to heavy trading near the start and end of trading.

Stocks rose for the second day after Research in Motion said late Thursday that its fiscal third-quarter profit more than doubled on strong demand for its BlackBerry smart phones. The results gave Wall Street hope that the technology sector has room to expand and that consumers and businesses are still spending.

Adding to investors' upbeat mood, The Wall Street Journal reported that Merrill Lynch & Co., facing hefty writedowns due to losing bets on subprime mortgages, may get a capital infusion of as much as $5 billion. The money is expected to come from Singapore state-owned investment agency Temasek Holdings Pte. Ltd., a fund that in late July said it would buy a 1.77 percent stake in Barclays PLC for $2 billion.

Sovereign funds have been providing troubled U.S. and European banks with much-needed cash. Over the past month, the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority bought a stake in Citigroup Inc. for $7.5 billion; the Government of Singapore Investment Corp. invested $9.75 billion in UBS AG; and this week China Investment Corp. paid $5 billion for a stake in Morgan Stanley.

Gregory Pai, managing director with Paradigm Asset Management, contends news from companies such as Research in Motion, the Fed's willingness to keep adding liquidity to the banking system and news of further cash injections to big U.S. banks has given investors a sense that not all parts of the economy are in trouble. He said any signs of resurgence are welcome as the economy will likely continue to struggle with weakness in the housing sector.

"I think that whether by design by the gods above or by coincidence, we're seeing certain things happen that will give us a good enough cushion to ride through the short term and focus on the bigger problem, which is housing," he said.

In late morning trading, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 166.32, or 1.26 percent, to 13,411.96.

Broader stock indicators also rose. The Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 18.52, or 1.27 percent, to 1,478.64, and the Nasdaq composite index advanced 35.81, or 1.36 percent, to 2,676.67.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by about 4 to 1 on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 1.01 billion shares.

Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, rose to 4.10 percent from 4.06 percent late Thursday. The dollar was mostly lower against other major currencies, while gold prices fell.

Wall Street appeared to be attempting a late-December rally with six trading days left in the year, but no doubt some skepticism remains about whether investors can pull off a so-called Santa Claus rally.

Companies like Research in Motion have reported solid sales growth, but others have had a harder time staying profitable as U.S. consumers struggle with sinking home prices and high energy and food costs. Research in Motion jumped $11.65, or 10.9 percent, to $118.64.

Electronics retailer Circuit City Stores Inc. fell $1.40, or 21 percent, to $5.26 after posting a wider-than-expected loss for the most recent quarter due to lower extended warranty sales and restructuring costs.

Meanwhile, a Commerce Department report on personal spending brought investors mixed news. Spending rose by 1.1 percent in November, the largest amount in 3 1/2 years. But the Fed's preferred inflation measure — the year-over-year core personal consumption expenditures deflator — rose 2.2 percent. That's above the Fed's comfort level of 1 percent to 2 percent, and could make it harder for the central bank to justify further rate cuts aimed at spurring economic growth.

Light, sweet crude rose 69 cents to $91.75 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 13.59, or 1.77 percent, to 781.13.

Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average rose 1.50 percent, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index added 2.26 percent. In afternoon trading, Britain's FTSE 100 gained 1.33 percent, Germany's DAX index advanced 1.50 percent and France's CAC-40 lifted 1.57 percent.

[REVIEW] www.nationalrelocation.com

Well, currently the economy looks rather bleak although we had enjoyed a year of fast growth in 2007. We can stay on the side lines watching the stock markets treading on a volatile manner. That is why buying a real estate is very important in that respect. Owning a house is what everyone wanted as it is one of the essential things to have in order to survive.

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[REVIEW] Its Time To Buy Gold

As shares or stocks becoming extremely volatile, it is time and it is extremely worthwhile to visit commodities. Whilst crude, metal and more has increase in their prices in these few years, the most spectacular of all the commodities would be none other than gold. Precious metal price had doubled in value over the past 5 years to the current $800 per oz. It is largely due to the world economy strains like credit crunch as well as subprime woes. The greenback and other currencies are also undergoing a phase of losing their value over time. In particularly the credit crunch setting in, more and more people are buying gold to protect their wealth during this period of uncertainty. Whilst recession may or may not come, it cannot hurt with gold standing at a substantial portion of your total wealth. Please refer to gold price chart for more details.

Mutual funds that essentially invested in precious metals are currently sitting on a very nice and attractive ROI. It can help to make you wonder, how high can it actually go. Well, it is typically a uptrend for gold price when there are times of uncertainties like wars, recessions or events like increasing crude price.

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A few things that you need to look at when choosing an online provider of such revolutionary way to keep or invest in gold. Of course the gold are expected to be always held in high-security vaults. The gold doesn't move making it exceptionally safe, secure, cheap and easy to trade online. All client holdings must be reconciled every day and published online using anonymous aliases to prove the gold is owned by who it should be. Gold is bought and sold using a trusted , proven and at the same time, reliable real time, live public Exchange which trades at narrow spreads around real-time world spot gold market prices so that it can allows and enables you to buy and sell gold at your price, and get a bargain in the process.

You can get more extensive research articles as well as essential information on gold at http://goldnews.bullionvault.com. This site do comes in other languages like German, French and Italian.

[ARTICLE] Is Getting a Bridging Loan a Smart Move?

Many people felt that it is pointless to get yourself in loan because of the usual reasons like stress, emotional depression and bearing a burden to return the debt or service that loan. Well, if you ask me, the problem usually lies with the loan providers or institutions. Can taking a loan be so complex? There are really a few issues or factors to consider before taking a loan from an institution. Are you having problems with your local banks? High interest rate? Bad experience with their customer service? Demographic issues?

Well, Internet has open a possibility of accessibility and has improves business to a great and large extend. The most commonly asked question is usually, am I able to get a loan in South Africa? Buying a house can be difficult without loan as it usually involves a large amount. Especially if you need to bridge the loan for purchasing your next property. Your only answer to this question is Smartbridge.co.za. This loan provider offers one of the best and at the same time a very competitive bridging finance and home loans to the public. Our bridging finance rates are proven to be the lowest in South Africa. They only offer their service primarily in South Africa. Their service is fast and a applicant can be paid out the same day if all paperwork is complete and in place. Excellent customers service telephone hot line to answer your every loaning needs. Value added features like forum and search function can be found in the site which can let you have knowledge on the latest issues going on with loan. Smartbridge will not disappoint you if what you need is a bridging loan. Apply almost instantly now.

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(FOCUS) Investors Are Not Impressed With Rate Cut

Well, the sentiment has been tainted by the heavy weight SSEC and Hang Seng which spills the negative sentiment over in the afternoon. Further deteriorated by the up going energy price.

Amongst the climbing stocks in the top actives, most of them turned and retreated as soon as the ending trading bell sounded.

Considering the turnovers, Yangzijiang took the most of everything and is currently in focus. There are mainly two group of people that will be especially concern over this counter. There are the contra-long and the contra-short. You can tell easily that a contra-short are jittery over their naked or CFD short position as they tried to talk down this counter further in leading stock forums. Extremely obvious.

The real reason for the down trending intra day movement believed by most:
By Bei Hu
Oct. 29 (Bloomberg) -- An investor in Yangzijiang
Shipbuilding (Holdings) Ltd., China's second-largest private
shipbuilder, is raising as much as S$212.5 million ($147 million)
selling shares in the company, according to an e-mail sent to
fund managers.
The shareholder, identified only as Joseph Lau, is offering
his entire stake at S$2.58 to S$2.63 per share, the e-mail said.
The stock closed at S$2.66 today in Singapore. Citigroup Inc. is
managing the sale.

My personal sense is that this counter, with RSI being at the oversold region should see a significant rebound tomorrow, gaping up. Once it gaped up and continue to move up after taking cue from SSEC, spiking it up even further. Consequently at this point of the time, shortist from 29/30/31 October and 1 November will panic and cover back. Once the stage is set just after lunch, big buyers start to come in and make the matter worst for these shortist bringing the price back to $2.64 region, at least in just one or two days.

Well, it may be a day dream before the real thing had even occurred, but this is what I can possible see and reasonably expect.

Above are all personal opinion and not an inducement to trade.

(ARTICLE) When Credit Cards Become An Addiction

Spending money is probably the happiest thing anybody can do and to actually make things worse, you are someone who use credit cards. While going on a spree, you are going around browsing through the things you have been wanting to buy, the worst scenario is that you have your credit cards with you; which chances are, you will buy it. Why is that so? People are mature enough to know what to buy and what not to buy.

Well, be it as it may, the reason is rather clear why does credit card becomes an addiction. There are really a couple of key psychological behaviors that can explain to this behavior.

Read on for more...

(ARTICLE) How to invest small amounts of money?

What is investing? It is such a catchy word that can catch the attention of money minded individuals. Investing comes in a wide range as well as spectrum of types and ways. In the currently context of investment arena, there are basically four types of investment:

1. Stock equities

2. Funds

3. Warrants

4. Bonds

5. Insurance / Regular saving

6. Foreign Exchange

Read on for more...

(ARTICLE) Tips For Young Investors

Many young working executives out there are the people who are very much keen of starting a portfolio. Once get their security account, the first instance when they are able to access to their account they wanted to buy something. Correct me if I am wrong, but that is the fact.

Well, for people who are more patient minded and would take the effort to learn will benefit more than those who rushed into frantic buying and chasing after unrealistic stock price tags. Be it as it may as many reports that revealed technical indications, people will still try their luck to chase after prices. "This time is different", they would probably say. Familiar? Of course it is.

Here are some tips for the impulsive lot who wants to know more about the market.

1. Before buying an equity or a security counter, read their annual report and make sure it is a money making firm.

2. Check the 52 week high because chances are if you buy now, you are actually going to be the one that bought over the stock at it's highest.

Read on for more...

(EXTRACT) CNN

Stocks get pre-Fed jitters
Major gauges struggle for direction as investors gear up for central bank meeting Tuesday, worry that weak retail sales mean housing, mortgage problems are spreading.
By Alexandra Twin, CNNMoney.com senior writer
September 14 2007: 2:25 PM EDT

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Stocks seesawed in choppy trading Friday afternoon as investors mulled downgrades of American Express and Intel and a weak retail sales report ahead of next week's highly-anticipated Federal Reserve meeting.

The Dow Jones industrial average (up 5.85 to 13,430.73, Charts) added a few points with less than two hours left in the session. The broader S&P 500 (down 0.72 to 1,483.23, Charts) index and the tech-fueled Nasdaq composite (down 1.63 to 2,599.43, Charts) were both little changed
Stocks slipped in the early going but the selling pressure let up as the session wore on, with the focus turning to next Tuesday's pivotal Federal Reserve policy meeting. Trading volume was pretty light due to Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year.

"Everyone's waiting for the Fed," said Harry Clark, founder and CEO of Clark Capital Management Group.

The unkindest cut
Retail sales rose just 0.3 percent in August, from an upwardly revised 0.5 percent in July. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com thought sales would rise 0.5 percent.

Excluding autos, retail sales fell 0.4 percent in August after rising an upwardly revised 0.7 percent in July. Economists thought sales excluding autos would rise 0.2 percent in August, on average.

The report seemed to speak to fears that ongoing problems in the credit and mortgage markets are spreading to consumer spending, which fuels roughly two-thirds of economic growth.

A separate report showed a weaker-than-expected rise in industrial production.

However, the retail sales news was countered by other more positive items, including a report that showed consumer sentiment rebounded a little in September after a drop in August.

The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index rose to 83.8 in September from 83.4 in August. Economists thought it would rise to 83.5.

In addition, Wall Streeters could be figuring that the weak retail sales report makes it more likely that the Federal Reserve will cut a key short-term interest rate by a half-percentage point when it meets next week.

Fed can't stop recession
The fed funds rate has stood at 5.25 percent since June 2006, with the central bank seeking to balance inflationary pressure with the risks of an economic slowdown sparked by the housing market collapse.

The recent rise in mortgage defaults and the tightening of credit have raised bets on Wall Street that the central bank will have to cut interest rates. The Fed has already cut the discount rate, which affects bank loans, and has added billions to the banking system.

Wall Streeters are now looking for the Fed to cut the fed funds rate, which impacts consumer loans, with the current debate about the extent of the cut.

Should Ben Bernanke and the central bankers opt to cut rates by 25 basis points, stock investors would likely be disappointed, Clark said, since such a cut is already expected. There are 100 basis points in one percentage point.

Should the bankers not cut rates at all, stocks would likely tumble, he said, as it would send the message that the bank is behind the curve.

Clark said a half-percentage point would be best, alongside an additional half-percentage point cut for the discount rate and a reassuring statement.

"I think they have to cut 50," Clark said. "25 would seem wishy-washy, but 50 says they are serious, they are taking care of it."

(For more on the debate, click here.)

Wall Street titans face the music
In other news, the Bank of England had to approve emergency funding for lender Northern Rock, reminding investors of the threat of a global liquidity crunch.

A hedge fund run by Goldman Sachs (up $2.19 to $190.66, Charts, Fortune 500) suffered a big loss in August, according to a published report. Several other Goldman funds have suffered big declines this summer due to the financial market woes.

Merrill Lynch (down $0.14 to $75.00, Charts, Fortune 500) said that its debt investments will hit its third-quarter results.

Among other stock movers, Dow components American Express (down $1.41 to $59.19, Charts, Fortune 500) and Intel (down $0.35 to $25.00, Charts, Fortune 500) both slipped on Merrill Lynch downgrades.

Oracle (down $0.33 to $20.12, Charts, Fortune 500) and Dell (down $0.54 to $26.35, Charts, Fortune 500) were among the large technology stocks falling.

ImClone (down $3.76 to $39.72, Charts) stock slumped 8 percent on an analyst downgrade.

Market breadth was mixed. On the New York Stock Exchange, winners beat losers by a narrow margin on volume of 740 million shares. On the Nasdaq, decliners topped advancers by a narrow margin on volume of 1.04 billion shares.

Why the credit crunch may deepen
Treasury prices slipped, lifting the yield on the 10-year note at 4.47 percent, up from 4.46 percent late Thursday. Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions.

U.S. light crude oil for October delivery fell 22 cents to $79.87 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after ending the previous session at a record closing high.

However, the record price is still below inflation-adjusted highs hit in the early 1980s, which would be equal to at least $95 a barrel today. Oil prices have advanced about 30 percent in 2007.

In currency trading, the dollar inched higher against the euro after falling to a record low on Thursday. The greenback was weaker against the yen.

(EXTRACT) STRAITS TIMES [ODEX SAGA UPDATE]

Odex stands firm on pursuing illegal downloaders of anime
By Jermyn Chow darkgrey

Odex revealed that over 483,000 illegal downloads had been made here over the past 10 months alone - making Singapore 10th on the list of countries worldwide with the most illegal anime downloaders. -- PHOTO: THE NEW PAPER
ANIME distributor Odex is standing firm on its stance to pursue illegal downloaders.

Clarifying its position in a media conference on Thursday, the company even brought in the muscle of anime copyright holders from Japan to back its case.

Odex said it had to take legal action because of the large numbers of illegal downloaders of the Japanese anime titles it brought in.

The company revealed that over 483,000 illegal downloads had been made here over the past 10 months alone - making Singapore 10th on the list of countries worldwide with the most illegal anime downloaders.

Compounding the problem - 59 per cent of households here have high-speed broadband access.

So Singapore has the highest percentage of anime downloads per capita, far ahead of countries like the United States, Australia and Hong Kong.

Odex's aim, said its managing director Peter Go, is to bring down the number of illegal downloads to about 85 per cent.

Odex authorised to act on behalf of copyright holders

To further bolster its case, Odex brought in representatives of four Japanese studios, which own the copyrights of blockbuster series like Naruto, Dragonball, Tsubasa Chronicles, and Romeo and Juliet.

The representatives told reporters through an interpreter, that they support Odex's legal action.

All four studios had in fact issued authorisation letters for Odex to act on their behalf, before the company went to the courts.

Said Mr Yukio Kawasaki, manager of TV Tokyo Corpration: 'If there is a necessity from the courts of Singapore requiring us to come down (physically), then we will come.'

The studios appealed to anime fans to stick to original copies.

Appealing court orders

Odex is currently in the midst of appealing to get a court order which will force Pacific Internet to supply the names of illegal downloaders using its service. A judge had turned down its request last Thursday (Aug 23).

To date, Odex has sent out 300 letters, from the 1,000 Internet Protocol (IP) addresses that SingTel had provided. An IP address is a string of numbers that can identify a user, although web addresses are commonly shared here.

StarHub has also been served with a court order to provide Odex with another 100 ISP addresses.

The Odex fracas has led to fervent online chatter with some anime fans vilifying Odex and others voicing outrage over the court orders forcing Internet Service Providers to reveal the names of their subscribers.

(EXTRACT) REUTER

NEW YORK/LONDON (Reuters) -

The Federal Reserve on Friday reassured investors it would take any steps needed to shelter the U.S. economy from a global credit squeeze, while President George W. Bush promised to help struggling homeowners refinance their mortgages.

Chairman Ben Bernanke also said the central bank would not bail out investors who had made mistakes, but overall his comments reinforced the view that the Fed will cut interest rates by a quarter percentage point at its meeting on September 18.

Bush urged lenders to work with homeowners to renegotiate their mortgages to prevent default and called on Congress to approve legislation that would provide mortgage insurance to borrowers through a network of private-sector lenders.

"It's very light on detail and limited in scope," Jeff Schappe, chief investment officer at BB&T Asset Management in Raleigh, North Carolina, said of Bush's proposal. "The important news today is that Bernanke is saying the Fed is going to do whatever it will take to limit the impact."

Rising default rates on home loans to less credit-worthy

U.S. borrowers, coupled with falling house prices, have

caused losses for banks and funds holding mortgage-linked securities in recent months and fostered the worst global credit and liquidity squeeze in a decade.

The Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank, the Bank of Japan and other central banks have injected extra liquidity in recent weeks to try to stop the credit squeeze impacting global economic growth.

Investors have been pinning their hopes on an interest rate cut by the Fed at its next policy meeting on September 18 to shore up U.S. economic growth and alleviate the credit squeeze.

MARKETS STABILIZE

All three major U.S. stock indexes rose more than 1.0 percent on Friday, supported by the Bush and Bernanke statements, which also helped boost European stocks earlier in the day.

Bernanke said the Fed would "act as needed to limit the adverse effects on the broader economy that may arise from the disruptions in financial markets."

But analysts believe the Fed is in no rush to act as it wants to disabuse investors of the idea that it is there to bail out their poor decisions.

The benchmark U.S. 10-year U.S. Treasury note lost 5/32 in price for a yield of 4.53 percent, versus 4.51 percent late on Thursday, as the need for a safe-haven investment dissipated.

International Monetary Fund First Deputy Managing Director John Lipsky said on Friday that market turmoil would dent but not derail world growth, though it was too soon to declare the troubles over.

"Central bank action so far has been appropriate but market turbulence has not fully receded," Lipsky told Reuters on the sidelines of a gathering of central bankers and economists in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

There were plenty of signs the crisis was far from over.

Rates for three-month sterling hit their highest in 8-1/2 years, while Australia's central bank struggled to ease upward pressure on some market interest rates as renewed trouble in the global commercial paper market made institutions reluctant to lend.

Deutsche Bank has shut down its proprietary credit trading desk and is laying off some of the team, a source familiar with the matter said. Earlier this month a source close to the bank said Deutsche was set to ditch its credit relative-value trading strategy, used by the London desk, after losses of about $135 million. Deutsche Bank declined to comment and has said nothing so far about any losses stemming from credit market tremors.BritIsh bank Barclays Plc, meanwhile, turned to the Bank of England as the lender of last resort for the second time this month after a technical breakdown in the British clearing system, a source close to the matter said. Barclays declined to confirm it had used the borrowing facility but said in a statement it was "flush with liquidity.

(EXTRACT) REUTER [Will There Be Calm]

No calm ahead for Wall Street
Another rocky week is expected for stocks as investors look for indications that the Fed will lower interest rates.

August 26 2007: 12:41 PM EDT


NEW YORK (Reuters) -- Wall Street is heading for another volatile week, but the bulls could get a further reprieve if calm brought on by the Federal Reserve's liquidity injections and a surprise cut in its discount rate lasts.

The coming week has a slew of economic indicators, including July existing home sales and preliminary figures on second-quarter gross domestic product, which should shed more light on the economy's health.

But paramount to Wall Street will be what the data says about the prospects for a cut in the fed funds rate as the housing slump fuels worries that the sector's slowdown could tip the world's largest economy into a recession.

"Wall Street is banking on a mid-cycle slowdown that was expected but could get worse, suggesting that the Fed may want to lower the fed funds rate," said Rob Goodman, director of investments for Fairport Asset Management, in Cleveland. "A cut," he said, "is not out of the realm of possibilities ... and I don't expect Wall Street to be too negative going forward."

Fed rate cut? Don't bank on it
But even with the burgeoning calm, money managers and analysts say a sense that there could yet be more upheaval due to weakness in the housing industry still pervades the market and could make for cautious trading ahead of the Labor Day holiday on Monday, Sept. 3. Volume is likely to be lighter than normal with many of Wall Street's denizens on vacation or cutting the week short for the last long weekend of summer.

Lots of economic numbers and exceptionally light volume often is a recipe for volatility. The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index, also known as Wall Street's fear gauge, ended Friday at 20.72, down 8.4 percent. The VIX is down almost 45 percent from Aug. 16, when it climbed to 37.50, a five-year high.

Dow up 7 percent for the year
More worrisome, analysts and money managers said would be any news that pointed to further turmoil in the subprime mortgage sector. Last week, several mortgage providers, including Accredited Home Lenders Holding Co, said they were cutting hundreds of jobs as the lending squeeze and lingering jitters in the credit markets take their toll.

Still, the clamor for a cut in the fed funds rate is providing a cushion for stocks as shown by Friday's stock market advance. Surprisingly strong data on July new home sales and durable goods orders contributed to the market's calmer tone.

Friday's gains sent the Dow Jones industrial average up 2.3 percent for the week, its best weekly advance since April 22. Both the Nasdaq Composite Index and the S&P 500 notched their biggest weekly gains in five months, with the Nasdaq rising 2.9 percent and the S&P gaining 2.3 percent.

For the year, the Dow is up 7.35 percent, while the S&P 500 is up 4.31 percent and the Nasdaq is up 6.68 percent. Before the latest turmoil, data showing the economy's pace of growth was stronger than expected would have rattled investors, quashing the oft-repeated view of a "Goldilocks" scenario - an economy that's neither too hot nor too cold.

Fed bends rules for two big banks
But with investors still uncertain about the extent of the impact of the faltering housing market and losses from subprime mortgages, Wall Street is set to latch on to any news showing that the economy is weathering the real estate downturn, albeit with bumps along the way.

"If the consumer can come out of subprime OK, then the market will come out of subprime OK," said Jim Fehrenbach, head of Nasdaq trading at Piper Jaffray, in Minneapolis.

He said the jobs report, due before the Fed's policy-setters meet on Sept. 18 to decide on interest rates, is among the pieces of data that may seal the market's fate in the days ahead, along with reports on housing. "If those numbers turn south, that's going to really increase recession fears," Fehrenbach said.

But the August jobs report is still a ways off. The nonfarm payrolls report for August will be released on Sept. 7.

Housing, Fed Minutes and GDP
Looking at this week, however, the economic calendar promises plenty of numbers to crunch and there could be some surprises. Among the week's highlights will be data on existing home sales on Monday; the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index Tuesday, along with the Conference Board's August consumer confidence index and weekly store sales.

The minutes from the Fed's most recent policy meeting on Aug. 7, at which the Fed left its benchmark fed funds rate unchanged at 5.25 percent, are also due Tuesday. The Federal Open Market Committee's August minutes could be particularly illuminating on the central bank's thinking before its surprise cut in the discount rate on Aug. 17 and its statement afterward saying "tighter credit conditions and increased uncertainty have the potential to restrain economic growth going forward."

Weekly data on mortgage applications will be released on Wednesday, while the government's preliminary report on second-quarter GDP is due out on Thursday, along with weekly data on initial jobless claims. This will be the second look at gross domestic product, which measures the output of all goods and services within U.S. borders, for the second quarter. The advance estimates of GDP were released on July 27.

Hedge-fund redemption shock
Friday's data features a reading on July personal income and spending, a report that includes one of the Fed's favored consumer price inflation gauges, the core PCE price index. (PCE refers to "personal consumption expenditures." The core PCE price index excludes volatile food and energy prices.)

Also on tap for Friday is the release of the August reading of business activity in the U.S. Midwest from the National Association of Purchasing Management-Chicago and data on U.S. factory orders for July.

The corporate earnings agenda is thin, with tax preparer H&R Block (Charts, Fortune 500) and computer maker Dell (Charts, Fortune 500) set to release quarterly results on Thursday.

(EXTRACT) CNA [ODEX Had "No right of civil action"]

SINGAPORE : Anime distributor Odex had "no right of civil action" against illegal downloaders.

This is because it was just a sub-licensee and not the copyright owner or exclusive licensee for most of the anime titles sold here.

This is the rationale behind the court's surprise dismissal of Odex's bid to get Pacific Internet (PacNet) to disclose its customers' identities.

The judge's 13-page grounds of decision was released on August 24.

District Judge Earnest Lau also noted that Odex was also in no position to initiate criminal prosecution.

On August 23, the judge ordered the company to pay legal costs of more than $7,000.

The judge also expressed unease over the hasty manner in which Odex tried to go after some 1,000 PacNet subscribers.

In particular, he was not convinced of the investigation method it used to uncover the IP addresses and pinpoint the alleged wrongdoers.

Industry observers had expected the court to rule in Odex's favour.

This is especially after it had successfully forced two other Internet service providers, StarHub and SingNet, to hand over the data of those suspected of illegal downloading.

In its letters of demand, Odex is asking for $3,000 to $5,000 compensation and also hinted of criminal prosecution should the subscriber refuse to pay up.

But the judge said under the Copyright Act, "only the copyright owner and the statutory exclusive licensee � have the right to take action against copyright infringers".

He added that Odex appeared to be the exclusive licensee for just one title, Mobile Suit Gundam Seed.

Odex said it would be appealing against the judgement. - CNA /ls

How Many Actually Survived Last Week's Onslaught?

Straits Time	3380.61	+21.43	(+0.64%)
SENSEX	15017.21	+148.96	(+1.00%)
UOB Sesdaq	228.30	-1.90	(-0.83%)
KLSE Comp	1296.48	+8.78	(+0.68%)
Nikkei 225	16800.05	+35.96	(+0.21%)
Hang Seng	21891.10	+98.39	(+0.45%)
Dow Jones	13311.89	+72.35	(+0.55%)
KOSPI	1849.26	+20.77	(+1.14%)
SSEC	4820.06	+70.69	(+1.49%)

Well, market is getting really volatile now with Sub prime woes and credit crunch unsolved. "Longist" that has been making a pile from the market for the past few months had their profit cut or even wipe out.

I would like to share with you the psychological behaviour of an amature investor. They are people whom underestimate the power of TA or technical analysis. Uptrend and downtrend detection. Although some are able to hold but ultimately it will be a scenario of unnecessary baby sitting. Consequently, as of current high-cap is going to be a roller coaster situation now. It thrills you by rebounding, but the rebound will be lower then of their falls. So after charting them, you will ultimately see a declination triangular formations. Pennies are different they are boundless in their interest and speculation making them attractive and profitable for the next few months or so, in my personal opinion.

Jade, LC Dev, Baker Tech, PSC Corp, Stratech, Lottvis, Lantrovis and Global Test will be in focus for the next few weeks at least.

Being very busy for the past weeks therefore had no time to calculate the portfolio. Will do it during my next posting. However, in a nutshell, fund holding with over weighted Asia equities exposure of mine sees a 15% decline to the current ROI of 15%. Outperform for Thailand, India, China and Korea. Especially China as they gear up for Olympics 2008.

Any opinion herein is made on a general basis and is not an inducement to trade.

(EXTRACT) Oil Price Fall

LONDON (Reuters) -- Oil fell more than $1, below $71 a barrel Thursday as further trouble in the U.S. subprime mortgage sector sent world stock markets tumbling and spilled over into oil and other commodities.

U.S. crude fell $1.38 to $70.77, more than 11 percent off its all-time high of $78.77 hit Aug. 1.

Other commodities also took a dive. Metals futures, often considered among the riskier securities, were down, with lead losing 5 percent and copper hitting its lowest since late June.

News BNP Paribas had become the latest bank to be hit by mortgage credit problems sent shivers through markets nervous that troubles in U.S. mortgages would spread globally.

A shortage of cash in money markets prompted the European Central Bank to add emergency liquidity.

"The fear is that all of this is going to have an impact on demand," said Chip Hodge, energy portfolio manager with John Hancock Financial Services.

Analysts noted flight from risk and strong demand for cash had forced short-term eurozone interest rates sharply higher. This, they said, was another sign of how much "stress" there was in the market and how much liquidation of risky assets.

"It seems that investors who need to finance their holdings of securities are not being able to draw on credit facilities and instead having to finance in the cash market," said Nick Parsons, head of market strategy at nabCapital.

Events on world markets overshadowed a bullish supply-demand picture for oil laid out in the latest fuel inventory data from top consumer the United States.

Figures released Wednesday showed U.S. crude and gasoline stocks fell sharply last week as crude imports slumped and refineries throttled back.

Gasoline inventories declined 1.7 million barrels, below the lower end of the average range, while crude stocks dropped for the fifth consecutive week.

"The inventory data was bullish but investors' interests were obviously muted," said David Moore of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

Unease over the health of the U.S. economy has knocked U.S. oil from an all-time high of $78.77 struck last Wednesday.

Analysts say further declines may be triggered by speculative funds moving out of energy and commodities to cover losses in equities and other markets.

Music Stop, Most Can't Find A Place To Sit

Straits Time	3492.70	-87.03	(-2.43%)
SENSEX	15234.57	-541.74	(-3.43%)
UOB Sesdaq	287.26	-8.22	(-2.78%)
KLSE Comp	1355.38	-26.12	(-1.89%)
Nikkei 225	17283.81	-418.28	(-2.36%)
Hang Seng	22570.41	-641.28	(-2.76%)
Dow Jones	13362.45	-111.12	(-0.82%)
KOSPI	1883.22	-80.32	(-4.09%)
SSEC	4345.36	-1.10	(-0.03%)

Global market sentiment edgy and water are choppy ahead. However, I do see a mixed market or a slight recovery on Monday as blue chips are reporting earning. Based on the market statistics, company's earning should surpass expectation as after-crash feeling remain cautious. Upside in sight, but overall market should be mixed.

ARC Market Pulse Portfolio

Counter	Qty	Buying Price	Current Price	Cost	Value	Profit
GlobalTest	3000	0.25	0.295	776	885	109
Lantrovis	5000	0.175	0.275	901.5	1375	473.5
Jade	5000	0.2162	0.385	1081	1925	844
PSC Corp	8000	0.155	0.135	1267.2	1080	-187.2
Stratech	8000	0.085	0.09	707	720	13
BakerTech	5000	0.53	0.44	2653	2200	-453

While, portfolio maintained at a ROI of $799.30. Quite remarkable during this few days of blood bath and turbulence. Well, BakerTech looking attractive ahead. Jade remain quite unpredictable as it has been suspended by most broking house. Lantrovis held its gain steadily ahead as news of rights issue are getting near. Portfolio's value dropped to $8185 with portfolio average cost of $7385. Cash on hand was decreased to $3800 after taking loss from LC Dev as property counter took a beating.

Long term stock holding of Comfortdelgro was trashed to $2.08 which presented a very attractive buying opportunity to dollar cost average. Sembcorp held steadily $5.80 after hitting all time high of $6.25 during midweek.

Funds' ROI is foreseen to be trashed to ROI of 18 - 19%. Uptrend still can be expected as market around the whole took a tumble. Although Wall Streets are currently looking bleak, indices like STI, SSEC, KOSPI and SENSEX should recover as investors from the west seek refuge in Asia's exposure.

Any opinion herein is made on a general basis and is not an inducement to trade.

Many Caught Off Side While 'BB' Buys Back

Straits Time	3604.62	+20.65	(+0.58%)
SENSEX	15550.13	+248.96	(+1.63%)
UOB Sesdaq	289.17	+11.13	(+4.00%)
KLSE Comp	1376.40	+7.17	(+0.52%)
Nikkei 225	18116.57	+100.99	(+0.56%)
Hang Seng	23016.20	+174.28	(+0.76%)
Dow Jones	13918.22	-53.33	(-0.38%)
KOSPI	1937.90	+7.20	(+0.37%)
SSEC	3912.94	-17.12	(-0.44%)

ARC Market Pulse Portfolio

Counter	Qty	Buying Price	Current Price	Cost	Value	Profit
GlobalTest	3000	0.25	0.32	776	960	184
Lantrovis	5000	0.175	0.245	901.5	1225	323.5
Jade	5000	0.2162	0.465	1081	2325	1244
PSC Corp	8000	0.155	0.145	1267.2	1160	-107.2
LC Dev	3000	0.6331	0.56	1899.3	1680	-219.3

Well, did bought TMC last Friday which I cut loss today with a loss of $650. Disposed half or 5 lots of Jade today; taking some profit in this highly volatile market. At the same time, 8 lots of Acma were disposed off at $0.145 last week. Kept 3 lots from the earlier purchased 6 lots of LC Dev. This one has a very great potential. Personal target price for this one will be nothing less than $1.00. Will be looking to enter penny opportunity like Advsys, Informatics, Eagles and Teledata. I do foresee another similar correction like Wednesday to take place sometime next week.

Looking ahead, tomorrow may see share prices trading sideways at a very narrow trading band. With the calculating the series of liquidations, cash on hand has increased to $4,550 after deducting the loss from the contra position closed on 5 lots TMC as well as the amount used to purchase 3 lots of LC Dev. Portfolio cost is calculated at $5,925 while it is currently valued at $7,350. The total capital valuation is at $11,890. A slight increase from the modest $8,000 pumped up capital.

Those who joined in the panic selling must have regretted greatly. Just take it as a lesson learnt. As you can see, I m not always correct, just that I am able to hold for a longer while. Anyway, if you have to, buy tomorrow as next week if climb higher will create a higher indigestion. Correction will and must take place between Tuesday and Thursday next week. Do not caught in a "off side trap" position which could end you up in a huge loss.

Sembcorp and Comfortdelgro remain unexcited with all these volatility going on.

My fund holding remained steady at 23% ROI.

Any opinion herein is made on a general basis and is not an inducement to trade.

Is Music Still Going To Be On?

Straits Time	3654.61	+30.05	(+0.83%)
SENSEX	15272.72	+180.68	(+1.20%)
UOB Sesdaq	290.67	+4.28	(+1.49%)
KLSE Comp	1384.72	+18.70	(+1.37%)
Nikkei 225	18238.95	+254.81	(+1.42%)
Hang Seng	23099.29	+290.27	(+1.27%)
Dow Jones	13879.37	+17.64	(+0.13%)
KOSPI	1962.93	+53.18	(+2.78%)
SSEC	3914.40	-1.60	(-0.04%)

Progressively, markets have outperform expectation and make many analysts puzzled as to why is this market hype persisting. Well, there might be many factors to this. One of the main push factor might be the revival in DJ's confidence. The other would probably be endless JVs and good news in the pipe line which inadvertently created this euphoric mood.

Looking ahead, I would say there might be a slight correction on Monday. If a big jump in STI again may raise some concern on indigestion, which may cause a greater correction the following day. However, with news coming in, the music is still bound to continue.

ARC Market Pulse Portfolio

Counter	Qty	Buying Price	Current Price	Cost	Value	Profit
GlobalTest	3000	0.25	0.335	776	1005	229
Acma	8000	0.13	0.14	1066.4	1120	53.6
Lantrovis	5000	0.175	0.245	901.5	1225	323.5
Jade	10000	0.2162	0.32	2162	3200	1038
PSC Corp	8000	0.155	0.155	1267.2	1240	-27.2

Well, I have sold LC Dev at $0.49 few days back which find itself rising to $0.65 at one point before ending at $0.61. I have picked up 6 lots of LC Dev at $0.63 on Thursday. I sold because I thought that the hype is over on its potential T3 hotel speculation. Once the resistance was cleared, the upside has been rather strong. I am still deciding on whether of to hold any of this 6 lots.

Anyway, Jade has rocketed, as deliberated on my last post, this was naturally being expected because of its potential as well as many projects and all that in its pipeline. Do look out for Jade's movement because my personal target price will be somewhere in $0.8 region as of now. Lantrovision still a good long term investment due to its good performance and this is not withstanding the potential rights and dividend issue that is believed to be coming up.

Well, the most potential stock from the portfolio to take off will be PSC Corp. After clearing its technical barrier of $0.155 should see a further upside to $0.2 next week. After calculating the gain from the disposal of LC Dev earlier this week sees the cash on hand to be increased to $3500. While the valuation of the portfolio as of now is $7790. Total value is $11,290.00. Quite a good return from the total capital of $8000.

Forget construction, Yongnam and all that, its not going to be in play for the next 2 weeks as market flourished on. Investors are looking for directions from news and performance report. Well, the next stock that will probably be in play with IR contract in speculation should be Cybervillage. Monday opening will be crucial in order to see the potential in-play counters.

Long term wise, my holdings like Sembcorp and Comfortdelgro have not really moved.

On fund's end, the ROI of fund accumulation has hit 26% with Lion Capital Thailand and Lion Capital Korea outperformed at around 29-31%. The recently purchased Aberdeen India has surged to ROI of 3%.

Any opinion herein is made on a general basis and is not an inducement to trade.

STI, Still Impressive

Straits Time	3561.96	+10.28	(+0.29%)
SENSEX	14964.12	+102.23	(+0.69%)
UOB Sesdaq	273.10	+1.19	(+0.44%)
KLSE Comp	1373.84	+4.54	(+0.33%)
Nikkei 225	18140.94	-80.54	(-0.44%)
Hang Seng	22531.74	+278.75	(+1.25%)
Dow Jones	13611.68	+45.84	(+0.34%)
KOSPI	1861.01	+13.22	(+0.72%)
SSEC	3781.35	+165.48	(+4.58%)

Looking at the above performances of major market Indices, things are looking extremely impressive. However, when will the music stop since most of the market are travelling into uncharted terrains. Well, major crash will not be expected if healthy corrections do take place periodically. Sensex is the most impressive of all, I believe it should be able to outperform the other indices by end of the year. Following that, Kospi after its early quarter massive correction have recovered almost fully.

ARC Market Pulse Portfolio

Counter	Qty	Buying Price	Current Price	Cost	Value	Profit
GlobalTest	3000	0.25	0.325	776	975	199
Acma	8000	0.13	0.14	1066.4	1120	53.6
Lantrovis	5000	0.175	0.22	901.5	1100	198.5
Jade	10000	0.2162	0.195	2162	1950	-212
LC Dev	5000	0.4	0.47	2028	2350	322
PSC Corp	8000	0.155	0.145	1267.2	1160	-107.2

The 5 lots of LC Dev did well as it was bought up to 0.495 at one point before ending at 0.47 during profit taking. The opening price for LC Dev, a laggard property play rumoured to be in the midst of developing a hotel at T3. Potential is unbelievable. As for Jade, a strong buy up from 0.155 since Thursday which revisit its peak at 0.21 before consolidating at 0.195. The rights and dividend issue will soon be release for Lantrovis and its earning has show strong improvement. Worth a second look. PSC Corp on the other hand was resisting strongly at 0.145 as weak hands are unable to hold this stock had triggered a sell down. Acma is looking stagnant, will consider to profit take next week, however if overall market performs well, it should be seen revisit its 0.155 level.

In light of many presented opportunities, I have again pumped in another $3000 to the portfolio capital raising it to $8000. Cash on hand dropped to $800 after a portion of it were used to buy PSC Corp. Current portfolio is valued at $8655. Total value including cash on hand is $9455, a $1455 increased in capital.

In my long term portfolio, Sembcorp recover a little to $5.700. Next week, blue chip play can be expected as crude on a technical point of view seems to be overbought. Comfortdelgro fell to $1.16.

Lion Capital Thailand perform really well to clinched a 24% ROI since April this year. While Indonesia Fund has turned green to ROI of 0.84%. Lion Capital Korea has been riding the up trend Kospi to its current ROI of 15.31%.

Any opinion herein is made on a general basis and is not an inducement to trade.